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Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
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Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
In transition: Commercializing fusion power
Commercial fusion power is closer than ever. There are now around 30 U.S. fusion companies, several of which claim to be on track to connect to the grid as early as the 2030s.
Tokamak and laser inertial confinement approaches benefit from decades of research at facilities such as the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and ITER, with alternative concepts including stellarator, magnetic mirror, and Z-pinch confinement also making notable progress as private and government funding for fusion increases.
Dunzik-Gougar is the associate dean of the Idaho State University (ISU) College of Science and Engineering, a professor of nuclear engineering, and a senior reactor operator at ISU’s Aerojet-General Nucleonics nuclear reactor, commonly known as the AGN-201. Presently, she coordinates the nuclear engineering curriculum at ISU and teaches core graduate and undergraduate courses. Dunzik-Gougar also performs nuclear materials research and is involved in regional and discipline accreditations, ISU’s international program development, and reactor administration.
She has published internationally and is recognized as principal investigator of productive research projects incorporating nuclear material irradiation and characterization and the associated management of radioactive material.
Dunzik-Gougar has collaborated on a variety projects and proposals in university, national laboratory, and international research environments. This includes her work as a joint appointee scientist at Idaho National Laboratory where she led the Simulation Institute for Nuclear Enterprise Modeling and Analysis fuel-cycle modeling project. She also worked at Argonne National Lab with various duties associated with pyroprocessing spent fuel and was also a high school science and math teacher in the U.S. and U.K.
Dunzik-Gougar has a BS in chemistry from Cedar Crest College and received an MS in environmental engineering along with her PhD in nuclear engineering from Pennsylvania State University. Her research interests include the nuclear fuel cycle, nuclear fuels and materials development, spent fuel processing, and waste form development.
An ANS member since 1992, Dunzik-Gougar was on the ANS Board of Directors from 1996-1999 and served on the Board until 2020. She is a member of the Accreditation Policy & Procedures Committee; Development Committee; Fuel Cycle and Waste Management Division; Education, Training and Workforce Development Division; the Special Committee on Government Relations; and is the faculty advisor for the ANS Idaho State University Student Section. She is an active member of the Idaho ANS Local Section and has served on numerous organizing committees for local and national meetings.
In 2011 and 2014, she was the recipient of ANS Presidential Citations in addition to the Landis Public Communication and Education Award in 2014.
Read Nuclear News from July 2020 for more on Mary Lou.
